1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to trim panels for vehicles and, more specifically, to a trim panel mounting assembly for a door on a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Trim panels are employed as interior components on motor vehicles. One of the purposes of such interior trim panels is to present an aesthetically pleasing appearance in an occupant compartment of the motor vehicle. These trim panels are typically mounted to structural support members of the motor vehicle. For example, trim panels are mounted to an inner door panel of a door for the motor vehicle.
While they are not usually employed as structural components, there are times when these trim panels must support a load. One instance when this can occur involves loads placed on the door during opening or closing thereof via activation of an interior door handle. Interior door handles are typically mounted to the trim panels and are employed not only to pull the door shut once the occupant has entered the occupant compartment of the motor vehicle but can also sometimes be used as a support for the occupant as he/she enters the occupant compartment of the motor vehicle. This situation can occur during the egress/ingress of a truck or van where the occupant compartment is disposed relatively above a waist of the occupant. Depending on the reliance of the occupant on the support of the interior door handle, as well as the occupant's weight and manner of pulling the door shut, it is possible that substantial loads can be generated at the interior door handle on the trim panel. In fact, it is possible for the trim panel to undergo substantial deflection at the location when the loads become excessive.
It is known to provide a trim panel mounting assembly to provide a direct load path for loads applied to the interior door handle without the use of exposed fasteners. An example of such a trim panel mounting assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,529,370 to Veit. The trim panel mounting assembly includes two components, referred to as a trim panel bracket and are inner panel or support bracket. These components are separately attached to the door trim panel and the inner door panel, respectively. The trim panel bracket is directly attached to the interior door handle in such a way so that the fasteners employed are not visible from the interior or occupant compartment of the motor vehicle. The inner panel bracket is directly attached to the inner door panel. The mounting assembly employs a clip feature and a leg feature on each bracket. These features are asymmetrically aligned so that the leg of one bracket fits into the clip of the other bracket when the brackets are properly installed. Once installed, the engaged brackets provide a direct load path from the interior door handle to the inner door panel. Although the above patented trim panel mounting assembly has worked well, it suffers from the disadvantage that the brackets are not visible to an installer during assembly, making it difficult to verify that engagement is achieved. As a result, the installer has to rely on "feel" and prior experience to know the correct relative positions of the brackets in order to execute the assembly process. Incorrect alignment may result in mis-assembly and repeated attempts by the installer to properly assemble the brackets. Such a scenario is undesirable in a mass production environment.